Fishing Report

Good morning, it looks to be a wonderful weather weekend here in the Quiet Lakes.  Sunny and 80s for today and tomorrow should make being on the lake pleasant.  We did get some rain yesterday, and we look to get more throughout the week.  Monday looks to be a soaker, with chances again on Wednesday and Thursday.  Air temps look to stay in the 70s and 80s for the week, so I don’t think the fishing will be too affected by the weather.  Water temps are in the low to mid 70s just about everywhere from what I am hearing, and fish are pretty much on a summer pattern.

Musky–The musky bite has picked up a bit, and anglers are seeing fish in and around green weeds.  Cabbage is preferred, but pencil reeds and lily pads can hold fish as well.  Bucktails and faster-moving baits like spinnerbaits can help anglers locate aggressive fish, while glide baits or jerk baits can get neutral fish in the bag.  Look for musky in anywhere from 3 to 15 FOW right now, depending on the structure you are fishing.

Northern pike–Pike have been active lately and they are haunting shallow weeds as well.  Mepps #5s or baits of a similar size seem to be accounting for a lot of pike as of late.  Chatterbaits and spinnerbaits are working well too.  As with musky, look for pike anywhere you find good weeds and work the weed beds from all the way up tight to the shoreline out to the deep weed edge.

Walleye–The walleye bite has slowed down a bit, and walleye have pushed to slightly deeper water during the mid-day high light periods.  Look for those fish on rocky/sandy bottom adjacent to deep water.  At dusk, walleye are pushing up onto shallow flats or shorelines, and anglers will have great luck rigging leeches under slip floats or on jigs to catch them.  

LMB–Largemouth are active and anglers are doing well on wacky rigged senkos or other plastics, such as craws or ned rigs.  Live bait has been working as well in the form of walleye suckers or fatheads.  Topwater baits such as whopper ploppers or scum frogs should really start to take off soon as well.  Look for bass in all manner of weeds and work the entire water column.

SMB–Smallies seem to be everywhere in the water column right now.  A few anglers in the shop had been catching a few here and there on fathead minnows while walleye fishing, and our niece Kate just caught one off of the dock on a wacky rig setup with a plastic worm!  

Crappie/Bluegill/Perch–The crappie bite has slowed down, as they have finished spawning and are now scattered a bit.  Anglers are catching a few from spot to spot mostly on crappie minnows or small plastics such as Gulp! minnows.  Look for crappie anywhere from 6-10 FOW.  Bluegill have moved into the shallows and should be starting to, or are spawning by now.  Waxies, leaf worms, and chunks of night crawlers rigged under a float are all great options to catch bluegills now.  Perch will be mixed in weed beds as well and can be anywhere from 4-20 FOW depending on the lake.

Have a great weekend, everybody, and we will talk soon.

Greg

Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, HOT and DRY would be how I would describe the weather to start the month of June.  Temperatures hovering right around 80 degrees for at least the next 15 days and overnight lows staying in the 50s will not help with keeping rising water temps in check.  I do see some rain forecasted Thursday, but the last two significant chances pretty much missed us, so I won’t hold my breath on that forecast.  Water temps have skyrocketed over the past week, as most lakes have gone from the upper 50s/low 60s to now the upper 60s/low 70s.  While this fast warm up is good for some fish species getting more active, I have a feeling some species will shut down or get harder to find once water temps push into the mid 70s.  

Musky–The musky bite has picked up a little bit, and anglers are still doing well catching musky on smaller bass/walleye sized baits.  WIth water temps warming, musky should start chasing bucktails and faster moving/larger baits.  Anglers should find musky in and around emerging weeds and rocky/weedy points or bays.  As water temps and air temps rise, musky anglers should be aware of not keeping fish out of the water too long……have tools, camera, and measuring devices ready if needed as to keep fish in the water as much as possible.

Northern pike–Pike have been active and that trend should continue as water temps rise.  Recently, anglers have had success mostly on live bait such as bigger minnows.  Artificial baits such as Mepps, spinnerbaits, and jerk/minnow baits such as Rapalas.  Anglers should focus heavily on weeds for pike right now.  Shallow or deep weed beds or weedy bays will be holding pike from now until ice up!

Walleye–The walleye bite has been good and anglers are reporting the walleye are “where they should be”. Haha not to be too vague, but on most lakes that will be related to slightly deeper rocky/sand bottoms or deep weed edges.  Anglers are having success on minnows such as fatheads and XL fatheads, although leeches and crawlers will really be the hot bite as the water temps keep coming up.  Look for walleye anywhere from 8-15 FOW depending on the lake and structure you fish.

LMB–Largemouth thrive in warm water and the bite is currently reflecting the warming water temps.  Anglers are finding largemouth up shallow and already on beds.  Dropping wacky/texas rigged plastic worms into beds will trigger strikes from big largemouth defending their beds.  It is a fun way to sight fish for shallow bass.  Other options include spinnerbaits worked through shallow weeds and even top water baits such as Zara spooks and frogs will start working now.

SMB–A few walleye anglers have caught some smallies on the same deeper weed/rock edges as they were seeing walleye.  Smallies will be pushing shallower and can start hitting top water baits as water temps continue to climb.  For deep/suspended fish, jig/plastic or live bait combos are an excellent choice.  Smallies may be tougher to catch right now as they are probably close to or actively spawning on most lakes now.  

Crappie–The crappie bite has been great lately as they are in fairly shallow weeds and schooled up spawning.  Small jigs or plain hooks and minnows rigged under a float are tried and true ways to catch crappie right now.  Look for crappie anywhere from 4-10 FOW right now and try to find some good cabbage weeds they use for cover.

Perch–Anglers have found some perch mixed in with the crappie lately.  The same jig and minnow combos have been working to catch nice perch.  As water temps rise anglers may find leeches to be equally effective for perch in and around the same areas they are catching them now.

Bluegill–Bluegill have been in shallow weeds lately and I am hearing some anglers are starting to see beds along sandy shorelines or around docks.  Chunks of night crawlers or leaf worms on plain hooks or small jigs are great choices for gills right now.  

That is all I have for this week’s report.  We aren’t even out of May yet but it already feels as if we are in the full summer swing.  Swimming/tubing/rafting in the lakes won’t be far off and if the weather holds we will have bath water by July.  Have a great weekend and we will talk soon.

Greg